Green Lantern, Kick-Ass, Predators: Jan 18th Comic Reel

Will Mark Strong play Sinestro? As we reported on Friday night at CBR, director Martin Campbell told MTV News the "Sherlock Holmes" villain was in talks to play the Green Lantern of Space Sector 1417. In a subsequent interview with The Los Angeles Times, Campbell was less giving about Strong's security in the role. The director was more articulate about why he likes the concept as a whole. "What I like about this hero and this story is it's all about will power ... it's also about fear and about courage," says the director. Meanwhile, Campbell tells CHUD's Devin Farci Hal Jordan "may be a hotshot as a pilot, but he also has chinks in his armor, which is what makes him interesting. In fact if anybody should not be chosen as Green Lantern, it would have been Hal Jordan. That's the journey that film takes, about somebody who on the surface of it is the least likely candidate to become one of the greatest Green Lanterns." Farci suggests Campbell is using the 1980s origin story "Emerald Dawn" as a basis for the film.

Directed by Martin Campbell, release date: June 17th, 2011

KICK-ASS

Hitfix has a new poster for the film. I'm not going to say the poster is kick-ass. I'm just not. The pun is done and -- oh, it seems I inadvertantly did it anyway.

Starring Nicholas Cage, release date: April 16th, 2010

PREDATORS

A number of set photos appeared on avpgalaxy.net, only to be removed. The removal process was not fast enough for sites like Collider to snap them up and give people a first look at the film in which a host of Predators fight a bunch of mercs.

Starring Lawerence Fishburne, relase date July 9th, 2010

HUMAN TARGET

Reviews are in. Herc at Ain't It Cool News did a round up of major papers comments on the pilot, which seems to be split precisely on how much slack each reviewer is willing to give Mark Valley as a jokey 80s through-back hero. When I saw the pilot during opening of Comic-Con in July, Valley's Christopher Chance didn't strike me as all that jokey, but certainly willing to quip. The show certainly has potential and the show's mission statement to be something like "Lethal Weapon" or an 80s action adventure show is refreshing in the grim and serious network TV landscape. MTV News says, "There is a lot to like about "Human Target." For starters, the main cast is terrific across the board." It seems a lot of reviewers were provided with the second episode in which Chance reportedly flys a plane upside down. I guess I'll be watching on Wednesday.

Airs: Wednesdays

JOHN CARTER OF MARS

IESB and several other sites are carrying a press release announcing that filming has begun on the film. Look at this cast (as listed in the press release): "Taylor Kitsch (NBC'S "Friday Night Lights", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine") in the title role, Lynn Collins ("50 First Dates," "X-Men Origins: Wolverine") as the warrior princess Dejah Thoris and Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man 3," "Shadow of a Vampire") as Martian inhabitant Tars Tarkas. The cast also includes Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways," Spider-Man 3), Polly Walker (upcoming "Clash of the Titans," "Patriot Games"), Samantha Morton ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "In America"), Mark Strong ("Sherlock Holmes," "Body of Lies"), Ciaran Hinds ("Munich," "There Will Be Blood"), British actor Dominic West ("300," "Chicago"), James Purefoy ("Vanity Fair," "Resident Evil") and Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad")." Three actors from "Rome!" McNulty! That guy that might play Sinestro! Also, Martian landscapes and the director of "WALL-E" making his live action debut. Awhile back I said there were not enough fantasy films on the horizon. Now, it seems my appetite for them will be sated.

Directed by Andrew Stanton, release date: TBA

IRON MAN 2

Fin Fang Foom? According to Superrobotmayhem.com, artist Adi Granov made an image of the Marvel Monster available for director Jon Favreau as a billboard Iron Man will fly past in the film. "It's very quick, but Jon wanted to have a kind of a cool easter egg in there," says Granov. While I'm not the most avid Marvel reader, I would buy two extra tickets to an Iron Man movie if Fin Fang Foom was an actual antagonist.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., release date: May 7th, 2010

THE SPECTRE

Bruce Timm talks with Ed Gross over at Voices from Krypton about the animated short included on the upcoming "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" direct-to-video release. "In a weird kind of way, the Spectre is perfect for a series like this, because those original Fleischer/Aparo comics this version is based on, were really simple, straight-forward little standalone stories. You don't have to expand it and make it bigger than it is: bad guys do a crime, Spectre shows up and kills them in horrible ways. Ten minutes of that works great," says Timm.

Release date: February 23rd, 2010

I'M WITH COCO

Now that I've finally kicked that cold, I'm going out into the rain to show my support for Conan O'Brien. Meanwhile, if any of you in the great, wide Internet discover something awesome, disheartening, just plain weird, or spot Mysterio up to his usual hi-jinks, let us know! Take credit, come up with a clever nickname, or go anonymous. The choice is yours. Fresh rumors and movie news every weekday morning. I am Erik Amaya bracing for the future threat of rain-soaked rally signs.